Former Site of the Asiatic Petroleum Company (British) in Tanggu

Former Site of the Asiatic Petroleum Company (British) in Tanggu

Former Site of the Asiatic Petroleum Company (British) in Tanggu

Era: Modern

Address: No. 86 Sanhuai Road, Tanggu District, Tianjin

Category: Important Modern Historical Sites and Representative Buildings

The former site of the Asiatic Petroleum Company (British) in Tanggu was established in 1905 as the company’s specialized facility in China for the transit and trade of petroleum products. The site includes docks, oil storage tanks, and office buildings.

The site preserves a two-story British-style building with red walls and a gray roof, constructed with brick and concrete. It consists of 14 rooms of various sizes, covering an area of 252.45 square meters. Built along the Haihe River, it served as the original office building of the Asiatic Petroleum Company.

The main structure on the site is a two-story British-style building that originally functioned as the company’s office. It measures 18.7 meters in length (east-west), 13.5 meters in width (north-south), and 11.5 meters in height. The building features red walls, a gray roof, a pointed roof with a flat top, and upturned eaves. The main entrance faces south and includes a covered porch. The first floor has five large rooms and a wooden staircase leading to the second floor; the second floor contains nine rooms used as offices, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. All rooms are floored with wood. The corridor ceilings are vaulted, and the doors and windows are European-style woodwork. This building is well-preserved and still used as office space. Two circular oil storage tanks built in 1905 are also located on the site. Each tank is about 15 meters high with a base diameter of approximately 29 meters. The exterior of the tanks is covered with a thin metal protective layer, and insulation material fills the space between the tank and the metal layer. Each tank is further protected by a surrounding brick wall about 3 meters high.

With a history of over a hundred years, the former site of the Asiatic Petroleum Company (British) in Tanggu is a product of Tianjin’s forced opening after the Second Opium War, when foreign powers invaded China. It stands as a historical testament to imperialist aggression against Chinese territory and the plundering of the nation’s resources, and serves as a valuable physical artifact for patriotic education.